Minutes of

North Carolina State Board of Optometry

July 29-August 1, 2010

Jane McKimmon Center

Raleigh, North Carolina

The North Carolina State Board of Optometry met in Raleigh, North Carolina, Thursday, July 29 through Sunday, August 1, 2010 at the Jane McKimmon Center on the Campus of North Carolina State University to conduct the Summer 2010 Clinical/Practicum Examinations, to hear reports from the officers and staff, to review complaints and for other purposes. Present were Dr. Michael Clark, President, Dr. William Rafferty, Secretary/Treasurer, Drs. David Anderson, Joel Banks, Andy Cook and Mr. Roger Mitchell and Ms. Mary Richardson, Members of the Board. Present as Staff were John D. Robinson, OD, Executive Director, Janice Peterson, R.N., Administrative Secretary, and Ms. Sara Roberts, Administrative Assistant. Mr. Johnny Loper, the Board’s Attorney, was present briefly on Thursday afternoon to meet with the Board. Present as Clinical Examiners were: Drs. Jill Bryant, Kenneth Bumgarner, Jamie Casper, Ania Hamp, Dave King, Magda Metwalli, John Miller, Sandra Moore, Brett Munn, and Robert Rosenstein. At 4:25 p.m. Dr. Clark called the meeting to order. In accordance with the State Government Ethics Act, he read the North Carolina State Ethics Commission’s “Ethics Awareness & Conflict of Interest Reminder” statement and reminded the Members of the Board of their responsibilities in avoiding those situations in where there may be a ‘conflict of interest’ or the appearance of a ‘conflict of interest.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES. On a motion by Dr. Anderson seconded by Dr. Cook the Minutes of the Meeting held in Myrtle Beach, SC on June 3-6, 2010 as corrected were approved.

On a motion by Ms. Richardson, seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously, the minutes of the Annual Meeting held at noon on June 3, 2010 were approved.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT. Dr. Clark having been in office less than two months had no formal report; however, he did take the opportunity to thank the Members of the Board for their trust and faith in his leadership abilities by electing him to serve as President for the 2010 - 2011 fiscal year.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY/TREASURER. Dr. Rafferty presented the Budget Report for the period 07/01/10 through 08/01/10. Upon a review of the Report by Members of the Board and the answering of questions by Dr. Rafferty and the Executive Director, a motion was made by Dr. Cook, seconded by Ms. Richardson and carried unanimously to accept the report of the Secretary/Treasurer.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. A number of issues were brought to the Board’s attention some of which will require action on the part of the Board in the immediate future. Included were:

• Actions by the House of Delegates of the American Optometric Association related to ‘board certification’ by the “American Board of Optometry” (ABO). It was learned recently that a company by the name of Prometrics as its ‘testing agency’. Prometrics operates and maintains a number testing centers over the United States and grew out of Sylvan learning centers
• There are no new developments at this time that merit changes in current Board policy addressing the use of ‘Board Certified’ by North Carolina licensed optometrists in the promotion of themselves or their practices. However, with the emphasis at the national level having shifted from ‘board certification’ to ‘maintenance of competence’ (MOC) and verification of MOC by the ABO , Mr. Loper and others in his Firm continue to research the law’in order to advise the Board as to its current policy and what changes and/or actions on the part of the Board (if any) they might recommend going forward.
• The time has come to finalize changes in the Board’s Rules to increase the number of hours required for license renewal from 20 to 25 hours and to decide how many, if any, of the hours should be ‘transcript equivalent’ hours requiring an evaluation component for credit.
• HB 221 which was ratified in 2009 made a number of changes in NCGS 93B-2, governing occupational licensing boards. The specific changes noted are 93B-2. Annual reports required; contents; open to inspection; sanction for failure to report. Subparagraphs (1) thru (11) of subsection (a) lists the reports required. Subsection (d) reads:

“Failure of a board to comply with the reporting requirements of this

section by October 31 of each year shall result in a suspension of the

board’s authority to expend any funds until such time as the board

files the required reports. Suspension of a board’s authority to

expend funds under this subsection shall not affect the board’s duty to

issue and renew licenses or the validity of any application or license

for which fees have been tendered in accordance with law. Each

board shall adopt rules establishing a procedure for implementing

this subsection and shall maintain an escrow account into which any

fees tendered during a board’s period of suspension under this

subsection shall be deposited.”

The Board of Nursing has already filed its rule with the Administrative Rules

Commission in accordance with this requirement. This Board should act

immediately to do the same.

• The Board must authorize the payment of per diems, travel and meal expenses for the Clinical Examiners.

Dr. Clark, I have nothing further to report at this time.

On a motion by Mr. Mitchell, seconded by Ms. Richardson and carried unanimously the report of the Executive Director was accepted.

MEETING WITH THE BOARD ATTORNEY. At approximately 4:50 P.M. Mr. Loper joined the meeting. He reviewed the amendments to Chapters 120-70 and 93B-2 of the North Carolina General Statutes as contained in HB 211 which was ratified during the 2009 Session of the General Assembly and discussed with the Board certain reporting requirements and how the Board needs to assure that it complies with such reporting requirements. Further, in response to questions from the Members of the Board and the Executive Director Mr. Loper stated that he would make inquiries to other state licensing boards to determine how they interpret and respond to such reporting requirements.

COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF NCGS 93B-2. On a motion by Dr. Anderson seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously the Executive Director was authorized to work with Mr. Loper to draft and submit to the Administrative Rules Commission a Board Rule in compliance with NCGS 93B-2 that reads as or similar to the Rule filed by the North Carolina Board of Nursing which reads:

“In the event the Board’s authority to expend funds is suspended pursuant to

Session law 29-125, the board shall continue to issue and renew licenses and all

fees tendered shall be placed in an escrow account maintained by the Board for

this purpose. Once the Board’s authority is restored, the funds shall be moved

from the escrow account into the general operating account.”

CLINICAL EXAMINERS. On a motion by Dr. Anderson seconded by Dr. Banks and carried unanimously the Board approved 4 per-diems in the amount of $ 200.00/day ($800.00) plus travel and meal expenses over the 4 days of the examinations for each of the Clinical Examiners.

REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS: The Executive Director reported that he, Dr. Banks and Mr. Loper met as the Board’s Probable Cause in Mr. Loper’s offices prior to this meeting. Since Dr. Banks whose second term on the Board is up will likely be replaced on the Board before the Board’s investigation of this complaint is completed another Board Member will have to be named to the Committee. Other than the fact that the investigative phase is likely to take months to complete the Committee had no further comments on the matter.

NEW BUSINESS. Dr. Clark appointed Drs. Rafferty and Cook to replace Dr. Banks on the Probable Cause Committees he was serving on since he will be leaving the Board as soon as his replacement is sworn in. They will be notified by the Executive Director which of the two Committees they will serve on There was no further new business

OLD BUSINESS. Dr. Clark appointed Dr. Rafferty to review requirements of those states that require continuing education with examination for license renewal and make a reasonable assessment as to the availability and quality of courses that meet such requirements. He is to report his findings and recommendations at the September meeting

ETHICS TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. Board members were reminded that the ethics laws requires that all public servants (which includes Members of this Board) and their immediate staff (which includes the Board’s Executive Director and Administrative Secretary) attend a refresher presentation at least every two years after attending a Basic session. New members have six months from the date of appointment to attend a Basic ethics education session. The State Ethics Commission website posts a calendar of scheduled presentations. The Executive Director reported that the Board Staff recently attended a refresher presentation a few weeks ago and that it was announced that within the next several months the presentation should be available ‘on line’ making it much easier for those holding appointive positions to comply with the law.

EXAMINATION OF THE CANDIDATES. Thirty nine candidates whose applications had been approved appeared for examination. The first session began at 7:45 A.M. on Friday July 30, 2010 and the last session ended at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday August 1, 2010.

REVIEW OF THE RESULTS OF THE SUMMER 2010 CLINICAL/PRACTICUM EXAMINATIONS. The date that the results of the Summer 2010 Examinations can be reviewed by any candidate who is not be successful in passing the examinations is Wednesday, October 20, 2010. Those individuals wishing to review their scores must notify the Board of that fact by no later than noon on Friday, October 8, 2010.

Their being no further business on a motion by Dr. Banks, seconded by Dr. Cook and carried unanimously the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, August 1, 2010.

The next meeting of the Board to determine the results of the Summer 2010 Clinical/Practicum Examinations and to consider other matters that might come before the Board will be held at the Board Office in Wallace beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday , September 16, 2010 and conclude no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, September 17, 2010.

Approved:

September 16. 2010

Wallace, NC